Between the Buried and Me Conquers Cincinnati’s Bogart’s as Part of “The Blue Nowhere Tour” [Photos]

“The Blue Nowhere Tour” converted Cincinnati, Ohio’s Bogart’s into a metal church on a Sunday night. North Carolina’s Between the Buried and Me (BTBAM) headlined the night, accompanied by Imperial Triumphant and The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die (let’s go with TWIABP for that one). This tour supported BTBAM’s eleventh studio album by the same name, released in September 2025. Each act brought a varied sound that made for an eclectic evening. One fan yelled that they travelled six hours for this show.

Connecticut’s TWIABP started the night with their distinct blend of progressive emo and post hardcore. A throwback sound with an evolving, heavier edge. Their set featured tracks from their latest effort, Dreams of Being Dust, released on Epitaph Records in 2025. There was an extra bump of intensity to their performance, with it being their final night on the tour. “Dimmed Sun,” the opening track, opens with a fury of blast beats, with guitarist Chris Teti leaping off his guitar cabinet. Followed by “Se Sufre Pero Se Goza,” with its danceable melodies and its own frantic screams and thrashy moments. Oubliette shows off their range with a moody and atmospheric tone. The set concluded with the hypnotic and defiant, “For Those Who Will Outlive Us,” finishing the set to a relentless climax.

Avant-garde trio, Imperial Triumphant, arrived on stage in their signature black robes and ominous golden masks referencing ancient gods. New York City, their hometown, heavily influences their music. From the art deco architecture to the wealth and decay. With a primarily thunderous sound, rooted in blackened death metal, the NYC trio fuses jazz into their rhythms. Guitarist and vocalist Zachary Ezrin, donning the Apollo mask, speaks through a vocoder between songs, saying only a handful of words. Including a robotic pronunciation of, “Zin-Zin-nati.”

Ezrin and bassist Steve Blanco, sporting the Baal mask, moved about the stage amongst the heavy fog, jamming together. Drummer Kenny Grohowski worked the kit in the Hecate mask. The members are able to connect with the crowd, even through the masks. Blanco wielded a brass horn with red lasers, sliding it up and down the strings for a mid-set solo. For a band with a domineering demeanor, their theatrics don’t get in the way of the performance.

The pioneers of progressive metalcore, BTBAM, took the stage in front of an eager crowd. One fan came dressed as a Galactic Gandalf in a space jumpsuit with a long beard and hat. The energy cranked up quickly with fans swirling in mosh pits and circle pits. BTBAM melds styles from various genres. Some you would expect and others you wouldn’t. It’s pretty difficult to put them in a genre box these days. The epic honky tonk hoe down of “Absent Thereafter” provided one of the night’s funniest moments. Partly from how long this extensive jam session lasts.

The ten-track set featured songs that spanned their 26-year career. Throwing back to 2005’s breakthrough record, Alaska, with “Selkies: The Endless Obsession,” a crowd favourite. Fans were riding the waves of hands as they sent crowdsurfers to the barricade. After the transcendent ending of “The Future Is Behind Us,” the quintet exited the stage. The congregation of concertgoers chanted “B-T-BAM, B-T-BAM” repeatedly to summon an encore. Which proved successful, with “Silent Flight Parliament” and “Goodbye to Everything Reprise” concluding a set the fans didn’t want to end.

“The Blue Nowhere Tour” carries on into the summer with appearances by Fallujah and Thank You Scientist.

Tour Dates:

June 2 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater
June 3 – Salt Lake City, UT – Grand At The Complex
June 5 – Sacramento, CA – Ace Of Spades
June 6 – Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda
June 7 – San Diego, CA – Observatory North Park
June 8 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
June 10 – Austin, TX – Mohawk (Outside)
June 11 – Fort Worth, TX – Tannahill’s Tavern
June 12 – Oklahoma City, OK – Tower Theatre
June 13 – Little Rock, AR – The Hall
June 15 – Tampa, FL – The Orpheum
June 16 – Jacksonville, FL – FIVE
June 17 – Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall
June 18 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn
June 19 – Pelham, TN – The Caverns
June 20 – Winston Salem, NC – The Ramkat